Awake and Dreaming
by tralala-yahoho
Summary: Mathias and Lukas live a seemingly normal life, but when Lukas suddenly falls ill, how will Mathias cope with it and the fate of his lover? ((DenNor - Human!AU - Rated M for language and gore (I am sorry there's no smut ))
1. Prologue

Prologue

It was still dark when Lukas had been awoken by a sudden loud noise. He was suspicious for a moment until he heard it again coming from the Dane lying next to him; his snoring had gotten a lot louder and a_ lot _more frequent. Sighing, Lukas rolled over to look at the digital clock on his nightstand. 2:26. He groaned, settling onto his back and closing his eyes. He was so exhausted, but he wasn't sure why. He'd taken a week-long vacation off from work, but he was a lot more tired than usual, despite the fact that the most difficult thing he'd done over the past few days was sweep the floor. He rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes and cursed under his breath. _Why am I so tired?_

* * *

_He opened his eyes after what seemed like a lifetime of waiting to succumb to his exhaustion. Much to his distaste, Mathias, though he wasn't snoring anymore, had decided to snuggle up against him. Both his arms were wrapped firmly around Lukas, making escape impossible._

_He decided after a moment that he'd just have to survive the night without rousing Mathias — a job that might prove to be more difficult than expected. Lukas knew he was a light sleeper, so if he moved the Dane would surely wake, and he'd be _loud._ Instead of attempting to leave the overly warm grasp, Lukas leaned into it. He let his forehead rest against Mathias' collarbone and let his arms fall against his chest. He closed his eyes, but he know that he wouldn't sleep a wink that night._

* * *

Lukas was caught off guard when the warmth that had been next to him the whole night vanished and he heard sheets rustling. Cracking an eye open, he saw Mathias climbing out of the bed very smoothly, most likely in fear of waking the Norwegian who was resting of the bed.

"Morning," Lukas said with a bit rasp in his voice. At the sound of him, Mathias whipped his head around.

"Ah, crap! Sorry, did I wake you?" He replied, quickly sitting down on the bed next to Lukas, who was now leaning up on his elbow.

"No, I've been awake for a while."

At that, Mathias laughed. A short, little, snorty laugh. "No way, you were out like a light five minutes ago."

"I was only pretending." Lukas raised an eyebrow at the Dane, who looked a bit amused.

"As much as you may think that you were conscious," Mathias pointed his finger at him, almost touching his nose. "You were snoring and drooling and, to be honest, it was kind of gross." He laughed.

Lukas scrunched his nose at the thought, but he was somewhat perturbed. "No, I wasn't. I was awake, all curled up into you because _someone _felt a bit cuddly last night." He gave the Dane accusatory glare and lied back down on the bed. "I'm so tired, I didn't even sleep a wink."

Mathias' eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Whoa, that would _never_ happen. As much as I may want to, I know what would happen if I even layed a finger on you, and it would not be pretty. Are you feeling okay?" Mathias rested his hand against Lukas' forehead, but withdrew his hand immediately, remembering what he'd just said. "You feel fine. I dunno. Get some more sleep, I guess. I gotta go to work now, but I'll be home as fast as I can. Call my cell if you need me." The Dane's usual carefree tone disappeared, being replaced with a worried one. Lukas was pretty familiar with it, though. Whenever something bad happened, be it stubbing his toe or falling very ill, Mathias would always be very serious and alert. It was a nice contrast and Lukas was happy to see it every now and then.

But he was still quite perplexed — he hadn't slept at all, he was sure of it. What made Mathias think he did?

"Mhm, yeah, okay. Thanks. See you later," He sighed as Mathias left the room. Lukas rubbed at his eyes again. He was far too exhausted to even try getting up, but sleep was still evading him.

He rolled over his side and pulled the string for the blind down. All he had to do was sleep. He just had to fall asleep.

He wasn't sure why, but it seemed a lot harder than it should have.

* * *

**Hello there ! This is my first upload here so sorry in advance if this sucks. Ah, okay I would've just gotten right into the story but it's late where I am so that'll have to wait til tomorrow. Don't worry, this will all make sense eventually! If this story doesn't completely nosedive, expect weekly(ish) updates~**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Lukas sat up in the bed. He'd kicked the covers off a long while ago and was now a bit cold. He wasn't hungry, he didn't feel like reading. All he wanted to do was _sleep_, but it continued to evade him. He'd counted sheep twice, closed all of the blinds in the house, he'd even taken some sleeping aides. Nothing had helped. He just couldn't sleep.

Groaning, he flopped back down on the bed, closing his eyes and scowling. _One more try_, Lukas' voice sounded a bit angry in his mind. _One more try, and if it doesn't work, I am going to kill someone._ He let his muscles relax, exhaling slowly through his nose as he repeated the phrase in his thoughts. _One more try, one more try._

* * *

_After a long while with his eyes closed, Lukas sighed angrily as he balled the covers in his fist. _Wait... didn't I? He cracked an eye open, and sure enough the covers were back on the bed. I'm sure I got rid of those earlier... Maybe Mathias is home? Maybe I did fall asleep_. Eagerly, he looked over at the clock, only to find a mere fifteen minutes had passed. He slammed his fists against the mattress, growling through his teeth. Okay, that's it. I'm going to kill something. He mumbled this to himself over and over as he trudged through the house, searching for something to take his frustration out on. The pen on the kitchen counter had been his first – and virtually only – target. _

_It wasn't two seconds before the pen was snapped in half, though the ink reservoir remained in one piece. His exhaustion had been briefly overcome by anger, but had returned just as quick as it came; and this time with a vengeance. Lukas meandered back up the stairs and to the bedroom, where he practically fell back onto the bed. He rolled over onto his side, facing the wall opposite the door. He stared at it, taking note of all the little blemishes in the beige-coloured paint. There was a small chip next to the nightstand, probably from last month when he'd fallen out of bed and used the small table to catch himself, consequently tweaking his wrist and, apparently, chipping the wall._

_There was a small spider building a web between the table and the wall. Lukas watched it, its systematic movements somewhat soothing, though not hypnotic. He didn't exactly want to sleep if there was a spider mere feet from him. He'd feel bad killing it, though, so he opted to just watch it for a while. Maybe, just maybe, he could be driven to sleep by the spider._

_Three hours. It was three hours he layed on his side staring at the 'little spider that could' - that was the spider's designated name, he'd decided. His arm had fallen asleep long ago, but he was still wide awake. Lukas had become bored of the spider about forty minutes before, but now he was absolutely finished. He grabbed the glass that was on the nightstand and threw it don where the spider was. After a few moments, he let his gaze drift down to the now destroyed web. The spider has fled sometime during the collision, he'd figured since he couldn't find it, or in the very least the carcass of the insect._

_He rolled over onto his back and closed his eyes. _Mathias will be home soon. I have to at least look like I've been sleeping. He was really worried this morning, and as much as I enjoy him being serious, the worried kind of serious isn't good. The last thing I need is to have to deal with a sick Mathias in my state of exhaustion.

* * *

When he heard the door slam shut, signalling Mathais' arrival, Lukas' eyes immediately fluttered open. Five minutes passed since his last-ditch attempt at sleep, and he'd officially given up. He'd ask Mathias to book him a doctors' appointment as soon as he got the chance. With a small sigh, he rolled out of the bed and hobbled down the stairs.

"Ah crap, did I wake you again?" Mathais asked with a twinge of guilt in his tone as he set a couple of bags down on the kitchen counter. "On the bright side, I brought food!"

"No, you didn't wake me," Lukas said, scratching the back of his head. "I couldn't sleep all day. Not even the meds wor–" He was cut short by the Dane's laughter.

"No way, man," Mathias chuckled, walking up to Lukas and ruffling his already matted hair. "Maybe you should try wiping te drool from your face next time you wanna bullshit me?"

If looks could kill, the glare Lukas gave Mathias had enough venom to kill a man ten times over, but he rubbed the side of his mouth and, sure enough, it was wet. _I couldn't have done that while I was consious, could I?_ His eyes searched around the room, he was so exhausted he couldn't even get his eyes to focus.

There was one thing, though, that caught his eye. On the kitchen table, lay a small, blue pen. Completely unscathed. He walked over and snatched it up off the table, turning it over and over in his hands.

"Ah, yes, the rare blue pen," Mathias grinned as he attempted speaking in a rather terrible Australian accent. "I've never seen one of those in the wild before, and to think you managed to get one into captivity! Crikey!"

Lukas shot daggers of eyes at him as he mulled over his thoughts_. I snapped this pen three hours ago. Why is it back together? It is even the same one?_ Suddenly, something clicked in his brain. He fled the kitchen, taking the stairs in twos as he rushed back into the bedroom.

The sheets had fallen off the foot of the bed, and by the looks of it, they had been settled there for a long while.

On the nightstand, the glass sat, not a crack or chip on it.

And there was no evidence of a spider ever living next to the table.

"Hey, uh, you okay?" Mathias asked somewhat surprised to see the Norwegian flopped over on his stomach, hanging over the side of the bed.

"Mathias. I think... I think I may be losing my mind." Lukas rolled over onto his back and stared at the wall for a moment before sitting upright on the bed.

"You feeling okay?" Mathias kneeled on the mattress in front of Lukas, the amused look on his face immediately wiped out by a worried one

"No... I..." Lukas covered his face with his hands, pushing all of the hair back with his hands. "I haven't slept all day. I swear, I broke that pen and that glass. I swear to god, I did, but they're back to normal." He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms.

Mathias put his hands of the smaller man's shoulders and waited for him to gain composure. "Luke, you should probably see a doctor. Are you sleepwalking or something? I think you may be going insane. Have you been taking any hallucinatory drugs?"

Lukas sighed. "Yes, no, probably, no."

"Did you want me to book you an appointment?"

"Please," Lukas croaked, falling sideways against the mattress. Mathias left the room with an eye trained on Lukas until he closed the door, leaving the Norwegian in silence. Lukas could hear him moments later talking into the phone receiver - the Dane's voice, though a bit muffled, carried a worried undertone.

Lukas whimpered as he crawled to the end of the bed and picked up the blanket that'd fallen over the edge. He knew he wouldn't fall asleep, but he wanted to be, in the very least, comfortable. He closed his eyes, trying to block out the world. He just wanted to_ sleep, _but he realised now that the only way he would be able to sleep was if he was knocked unconscious. Or dead. At this point, he was so exhausted that both of them sounded rather appealing

It wasn't until an hour later that Mathias came up to check on Lukas that he found him sleeping peacefully. He had brought him a bit of food, but opted to set it on the dresser instead of waking Lukas up. Mathias sat on the edge of the bed, placing the back of his hand on Lukas' forehead. He wasn't running a temperature, but he looked like he had the plague. There were dark circles around his eyes, and his skin was a lot paler than usual.

Still though, he looked peaceful, and almost... happy.

* * *

_Lukas wasn't sure when, but after a little while, the bedroom door creaked open and Mathias came in, carrying a small tray. "Brought ya food!" The Dane set the tray down at the foot of the bed and helped Lukas sit up. As loud and annoying as Mathias was being, he was quite grateful for his actions._

"_Alrighty, I, er, tried cooking something. Sorry, I know that's usually your job so I'm not too good at it," Mathias grabbed the near overflowing platter and set it down softly in Lukas' lap. "Okay, uh, I burned the pancakes a bit, sorry, but I think that's the only thing I messed up on. There's a couple of sleeping pills right there if you need them. I'm gonna go and do some work in the study, so I'll be right across the hall if you need anything!" Mathias smiled brightly down at Lukas, who looked quite surprised that he'd managed to pull of such a feat._

"_Mhm, okay," the Norwegian mumbled. "Thanks."_

_Lukas, though he wouldn't admit it, was absolutely famished. He hadn't eaten all day, so it was kind of a given. As soon as Mathias left the room, he practically dove into the meal. He had to admit, it was quite good; so good it was gone within five minutes._

_He set the dish on the floor after taking the pills – at this rate, he'd probably overdose on the pills before actually falling asleep. He lied back down, wanting to sleep but realising he'd just ate and hadn't brushed his teeth. It was one of his biggest pet peeves when Mathias would sleep before brushing and he wasn't about to become a hypocrite. He slowly swung his legs over the bed and began to stand up. There was a loud clattering noise that came from the other side of the hall, and before Lukas could let it fully register it in his mind, Mathias had him by the wrists._

"_Whoa! You're sick, you aren't allowed ta get up!" His face was serious, but his voice was as boisterous as before. "That's what I'm here for, I'm s'posed to get ya whatever you want."_

"_I want to brush my teeth." Lukas raised his eyebrow at Mathias._

"_Oh. Uh, well, at least let me walk you there."_

_Sighing, Lukas agreed. He was being quite kind, he may as well enjoy this as much as possible._

_He didn't take long in the bathroom, he brushed his teeth rather quickly. He did take a moment to look at himself in the mirror; it didn't look right to him. Something was off, but he couldn't quite place it. He was so exhausted, probably just seeing things. He allowed the Dane to walk him back to bed and tuck him in._

"_Okay, I'll leave both of these doors open this time. If you need anything, just call," Mathias gave him a somewhat sad looking smile. "I'm right here."_

"_Uh, yeah," Lukas closed his eyes. "Thanks." _Why is he being so nice? Usually he's drunk or watching football or something. Maybe he finally has some sense? Highly implausible._ Lukas mulled over his thoughts in his head as he closed his eyes and tried to sink into slumber._

* * *

It was something, either a pen or pencil hitting the floor, that had made Lukas snap out of his thoughts. He opened his eyes to see the bedroom and study doors wide open – just as Mathias had felt it. His eyes scanned the room and he noted that forty minutes had passed since he'd eaten. He was absolutely starving.

"Mathias..." he groaned, balling the covers up in his hands. It wasn't any longer than five seconds before the Dane entered the room, a somewhat alarmed expression on his face.

"Are you hurt? Do you feel sick? Are y—"

"I'm hungry."

Mathias laughed a bit. "No worries, one minute, I cooked you something earlier but you fell asleep, I'll go and reheat it."

"I didn't—" Lukas tried to interject but Mathias was already bounding down the stairs. "...sleep."

When Mathias arrived back in the room a minute later, Lukas became fully confused. "You made more pancakes? Do we even have the ingredients in the house?"

"More?" Mathias asked with a puzzled expression, laughing a bit. "I haven't made pancakes since I was about fourteen. I think you were right; you are losing your mind."

Lukas gave him a questioning look, but ate the meal nonetheless. Mathias sat next to him the whole time, watching him. Honestly, it was a bit creepy, but Lukas figured it was because he was sick and Mathias didn't want anything bad to happen to him.

When he finished, Mathias took the dish and set it on the nighttable, pushing the hair out of Lukas' eyes and helping him settle back down.

"Go back to sleep, you still look exhausted," Mathias said, a serious look on his face, though his voice was soft. "If you want, I'll crawl in with you too," he added playfully.

"Fine, whatever floats your boat," Lukas sighed, too exasperated to deal with the Dane's shenanigans.

"Really!?" Mathias sounded far too excited to be sleeping with a sick person. "Okay, back in a minute!" He hopped off of the bed and down the hall, changing into pajamas faster than lightning – _acting_ far too excited to be sleeping with a sick person.

He settled himself next to Lukas, laying his arm out for the smaller man to lay his head on.

"Hey, sweetcakes," the Dane laughed a few moments later.

"I swear, if I wasn't so tired, I would slap you. I would bitchslap you so hard, you have no idea."

"Love you too, Luke!" Mathias chuckled, rolling onto his side and embracing the Norwegian.

Lukas sighed. He'd closed his eyes and tried to sleep so many times today and he'd decided that another try would be pointless. He opted to curl up against Mathias' chest, the Dane's breath fluttering softly in his hair, becoming slower as he began to drift into slumber. Lukas wished he could follow suit, but he knew that wouldn't happen. As he cupped Mathias' jaw in his hands and kissed his chin, all Lukas could think about was the only thing that was out of his reach. He had Mathias, and honestly, he was the most precious thing in his life – he'd never admit it, though. Most nights, he'd be perfectly fine just to lay next to the Dane, that'd be enough to make him feel content, but right now there was only one thing that he wanted.

_Sleep._

* * *

**Okay, 1 - sorry this seems a bit melodramatic orz i promise it'll be less exaggerated next chapter because next chapter shit's gonna go down. And 2 -never mind weekly updates. This story will most likely have inconsistent updates and varying chapter lengths (especially once the plot thickens). I have three days off of work this week (whoo!) So I'll get some of the second chapter written then! In the meantime, enjoy the first **_**real **_**chapter of this story, thanks for reading!**


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